The deadly crash in the Potomac after an American Eagle jet collided with a military helicopter has stirred memories of a long-ago tragedy in Washington, D.C. An Air Florida flight taking off en route to Fort Lauderdale crashed into a bridge and tumbled into the icy Potomac in January 1982.

The devastating Air Florida Flight 90 crash on Jan. 13, 1982 and subsequent rescue efforts in the ice-covered Potomac River transfixed Washington and the nation

Collision between American airlines jet and Black Hawk on Potomac revives haunting memories of the 1982 tragedy.

Daniel Izzo, a retired Navy SEAL master chief, has conducted water rescues after plane crashes and says winter conditions in the Potomac River make the situation even more dangerous. "It always seems like something like this happens at the worst possible time," Izzo said. "It happened at night. It happened in January."

A Boeing 737 crashed into a bridge over the river on Jan. 13, 1982, just after taking off from Washington National Airport in a snowstorm.

One of the pilots of the passenger jet involved in a mid-air collision in Washington, D.C. was a native of New York but grew up in Florida, where he learned to fly planes, according to records and statements from those who knew him.

Multiple 911 callers reported the crash near the river just before 8:55 p.m., according to the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and EMS.

The recent crash and rescue on the icy river between DC and Virginia sparks memories of Air Florida's 1982 disaster.

Divers are expected to return to the Potomac River as part of the recovery and investigation after the United States' deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

Divers are expected to return to the Potomac River as part of the recovery and investigation after the United States’ deadliest aviation disaster in almost a quarter century.

Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act authorized 10 additional daily flights to DCA’s schedule, all of which are outside the perimeter. This decision was made “over the strong opposition of the Airports Authority,” DCA’s website says. Congress also added 54 total slots spread across 2012, 2003 and 2000.